Follow Me
by Ash Ninja
Summary: Set after 'Downtime'. Kaldur finds himself in a awkward situation while being dragged all around town by Artemis after she hears about his falling out with Tula. Arteldur. High T. One-shot.


**A/n: IDK, something I thought might be cute after watching 'Downtime'.  
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**Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story.**

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**Follow Me  
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"Artemis, what are you doing?" Kaldur asked, quirking his brow as he watched the blond archer scale up a chain link fence, which surrounded a large kidney shaped pool, and drop down on the other side. "This is hardly legal."

"Oh, come off it, Kaldur! Get over here." Artemis replied, waving her hand at him absently.

"I do not see why we need to sneak into a community pool when the beach is only five miles down the street." Kaldur sighed, shaking his head. "We could get caught for doing this."

"You need to learn to have some fun, take a trip on the wild side." Artemis proclaimed.

He surveyed the area for any unwanted attention.

Somehow the Atlantean had found himself accompanying Artemis into town after the day's stressful mission.

By some chance he had allowed the girl to drag him around. They had looked at the display windows at various stores and had dinner at a local cafe. There they listen to a cover band perform a few of Artemis's favorite songs. After a hour of listening to the cover band they had somehow wondered there to a community pool.

"Hey, Kal! You coming in, or what?" Artemis called over to him.

Kaldur snapped out of his revive and focused his attention back on the blond archer.

He could see her standing perfectly in the full blue moonlight. Her back was to him, her arm folded over her chest while the other was perched on the gentle curve of her hip. Her clothes lay in a pile at her feet. His eyes widened, jaw dropped.

Artemis stood there beautiful, stoic and nude as the day she was born.

"What-What do you think you are doing?" Kaldur sputtered, quickly fixing his gaze on the ground. His cheeks suddenly feeling hot.

"Going skinny dipping, what else?" The archer replied, he could hear the obvious smirk on her face. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

"Artemis, please, put your clothes back on! If you wish to go swimming, we can go back to Mountain Justice for our swimsuits and go to the beach." Kaldur was entirely flustered. He shoved his fists into his pockets and clenched his teeth.

"That's no fun. Fine, I'll go in for a few minutes and you can stay over there and keep watch." Before he could protest Artemis took a running start and jumped into the water.

"Artemis!" Kaldur groaned, grabbing hold of the fence and scaled over it.

He dropped down onto the concrete in a kneeling position. When he stood up the young Atlantean saw Artemis floating in the middle of the pool, watching him with an amused expression.

Sweat began to bead on his brow, he shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. The way she was staring at him made him nervous.

"Well? Do you want to come in now?" She asked, smiling widely at him. "The water's perfect."

"I... I do not think so." He replied, flexing his toes against the wet pavement.

"C'mon, I promise I didn't pee in the water, it's a heated pool!" Artemis giggled at his bewildered expression.

"It-It's not the temperature that I am concerned about." Kaldur insisted, shaking his head slightly.

"Then come on, who else am I going to play Marco Polo with? Or we can have a race, if you want. Unless you're scared to lose to a Surface Dweller." She quirked her brow at him challengingly.

"No. It's just... I have never gone... Skinny dipping. I never been nude in front of a woman." Kaldur said modestly, unzipping his sweater and pulled it over his head.

Artemis laughed again, swimming around to give him privacy to undress.

He paused a moment when he got down to his black boxer-shorts. Pursing his lips together in a thin line, Kaldur left his underwear on. Slowly he walked over to the edge of the pool and gently lowered himself into the water. To Kaldur's surprise, Artemis had been right, the water was lukewarm.

"See? This isn't so bad." The archer said, swimming towards him but stopped a few feet away. "Well, with the exception of you going back home with wet pants."

Kaldur swallowed the dry lump in his throat, licking his lips. "Like I said, I have never been naked in front of a woman besides my mother before."

"It's just me, Kaldur. Whatever I see I will keep it to myself." Artemis reassured him.

"But..." He floated away from her in a backstroke.

"If I trust you to look at me naked, then why can't you trust me to look at you naked?" She pressed, swimming after him.

Artemis had a point there.

Kaldur stopped in the shallow end of the pool, sitting on the lowest step of the pool stairs, one hand on the guardrail. Closing his eyes, Kaldur stood up and pulled his boxers down and tossed them onto the pavement. He reopened his eyes and turned back towards the water to see Artemis watching him again, eyebrows raised.

She dragged her gaze lazily over his completely exposed body. A clear look of satisfaction on her face, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Did that girl back in Atlantis ever see you without your pants? If she did I'm pretty sure she won't mind waiting around for you." She paused. "Wait, no, that was bad. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, and to answer your question, no. Like I said, I have never been naked in front of a woman. Therefore, I never did anything like this with her before." Kaldur said softly.

"You're finally opening up, that's good!" Artemis said dryly.

"I suppose so... Now about that race." He beckoned her over to move to his side.

"Yeah?" She quirked her slim brow at him.

"It starts right..." Kaldur plunged headfirst into the pool, making a perfect dive in the water. "Now!"

"Hey, cheater!" Artemis exclaimed, diving after him.

He rose from his dolphin kicks, back to the chilly air, and settled into a fervent stroke. The blond archer was a full length behind and couldn't leave too much of it for the final sprint. Never quite enough air, but his body felt good. Swimming so fast he was skimming atop the water.

Even though Kaldur had led off the race, Artemis fought admirably to stay in close second before the space between them as it became thinner.

Once Kaldur had reached the other side of the pool, he turned back around to wait patiently for her to catch up to him. Sadly, it looked like she wasn't planning on stopping herself by grabbing the edge of the pool as he had done. Instead she kept swimming towards him, at the last second he realized that and braced himself.

Kaldur threw his arms out as her head collided with his chest. He let out a loud grunt at the startlingly strong impact, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her upright against him. Artemis gasped and sputtered for air.

"You cheated, you totally cheated!" She announced, shaking her head.

"My deepest apologizes, Artemis. But in my defense, I am a water born being. It is in my nature to be a excellent swimmer." He pointed out, chuckling.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Whatever, next time, I get the head start."

"If you believe that it will help." Kaldur shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"So, I'm guessing you like what you see?" She asked, grinning at him.

His brow twitched slightly as his face paled. "What are you talking about?"

"Mm, look down, big boy." Artemis suggested.

Kaldur reluctantly glanced down to see he had yet to release her from their earlier embrace. Their nude bodies pressed together closely. Artemis's skin was soft and warm against his own. He silently thanked Atlantis that he had been born with such dark skin as a deep blush settled on his face.

"Oh... Oh no." He mumbled, shaking his head.

"Oh, yes." The blond archer teased, encircling her arms around his shoulders. She pushed her breasts up against his chest for a moment.

Kaldur's face felt as if it were burning, never before had he felt this way.

Artemis moved one of her hands down to pinch his butt before pulling back and floated away from him on her back. _"Kaldur's excited."_ she said in a sing-song voice. "I didn't think you could get all hot and bothered so easily, Kal."

"I..." He didn't how to respond to her comment.

He just stayed rooted to the spot, mouth agape and his embarrassment completely out in the open. Silence lapsing between the two team members.

Bashfully, he watched Artemis glide through the water, floating around the pool. Taking in her fine, elegant features. The normal relaxed look on her face gave him a sense of tranquility and comfort that he had not felt since he had last returned to Atlantis.

His face darkened a bit at the thought of his homeland, the thought of Tula and Garth together. Raw anger and jealousy coursed through him like a current of electricity.

He was happy for them, truly, he was and he did wish them the best. But the feeling of betrayal still remained fresh in his heart. His best friend had stole his former sweetheart from right under his nose and Kaldur had to be the bigger person. He accepted the truth. Tula is in love with Garth - and not him.

How could he ever visit Atlantis now without wanting to cry like a baby in front of Tula, or control his anger around Garth? They had been one of his few reasons to even visit the underwater paradise at all.

"You thinking about her?" Artemis asked.

"Yes." He replied, seeing no point in trying to deny it.

"Oh?" She quirked her brow at him.

"Mm-hm." Kaldur nodded, avoiding her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

Then they were silent again, just staring at one another. Only the chirping of the crickets and lapping of the water was heard in the still night.

Carefully, Kaldur reached out and took Artemis's hand within his own. For a moment he hesitated, waiting for either acceptance or rejection from the blond archer. The feeling of indecisive fear creeping up inside of him. The same feeling he had when he had revealed his decision to stay in Atlantis to Tula.

Slowly she curled her fingers around his hand, looking thoughtfully up at him through her thick dark lashes.

"Kaldur... I'm glad you decided to stay here on the surface... With the team." She said quietly.

"So am I, Artemis." He glanced down at their still joined hands, a soft smile curving up on his lips. "So am I."

It was at that moment Kaldur realized something important.

Artemis cocked her head to the side and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"You will think it's ridiculous." He replied, stroking her knuckle with his thumb.

"No I won't." The blond archer protested.

"I know you well enough now to know that you will." Kaldur countered. "You will laugh at me."

"That's not... Okay, fine, I might laugh." Artemis said truthfully. The Atlantean smirked triumphantly as she nudged him playfully. "C'mon, tell me."

Kaldur sighed and said, "I was just thinking... How Tula, Garth and my life in Atlantis may have been important to me in the past and they all still hold a special place in my heart. But the team and..." He paused, tightening his hold on her hand. "You, are all my future. I'm beginning to love my life here in the surface world. Maybe even more than my old life in Atlantis."

Artemis pursed her lips together in a thin line, turning her face away from him.

"Ridiculous isn't it?" Kaldur said, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

She shook head, looking back at him with kind eyes. "Yes, it was corny and sounded like something you hear in a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants novel. Same thing goes for this whole situation. But it was also very sweet."

"Thank you, Artemis... For everything." Kaldur said softly.

"You really are perfect, you can sound like a sappy rom-com at times, but you are perfect. You know that Kaldur?" Artemis smiled up at him.

"To answer your question, Artemis, no. I never thought of myself as anything near to perfection." He replied, brushing the locks of hair that had fallen out of Artemis's ponytail back from her face.

"You also never thought you would be seen naked by a woman that wasn't your mother, but look at you now." The blond archer pointed out.

Kaldur blushed and cleared his throat. "I... I think we should get dressed and go back to the Cave now."

"Why so soon? We just started to have some fun. Besides..." Artemis gave him a provocative smile. "We haven't gone into the hot tub yet."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Kaldur asked.

"Mm... Nope!" She pinched his butt again before dragging him out of the pool and over to the hot tub.

Kaldur groaned tiredly but smiled. He was definitely beginning to treasure his life here on the surface world a little more than his one back under the sea.

Maybe he had made the right choice after all.

Staying here with the team was the right choice.

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**A/n: Just another Arteldur one-shot for everyone's guilty pleasure. I can actually see Artemis doing this in a episode. Also I can only image her consoling Kaldur over his broken heart and cheering him up.**

**Let me know what you guys think. Silence just makes the heart grow colder.  
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